Excluding and controlling hearsay in criminal proceedings: CJA 2003 ss 117(7), 124–126; PACE 1984 s78; case-stopping and jury directions (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

Exclusion under the Criminal Justice Act 2003

The admissibility of hearsay in criminal proceedings is regulated by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003). The CJA 2003 also permits the reception of hearsay evidence where one or more statutory bases for admitting it are met. The Act also sets out numerous protections, labelled by the Court of Appeal in Horncastle as a ‘crafted code’, intended to secure that hearsay is received only where admitting it is fair. See Practice Note: Admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings. Practitioners might first, at the outset, assess whether the hearsay could be ruled out altogether, in appropriate cases, under CJA 2003, s 126 or section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984), before turning to any further protections that could be employed should it be admitted.

General discretion to exclude

Pursuant to CJA 2003, s 126, the court has a discretion to refuse hearsay evidence where it is satisfied that the argument for exclusion, taking into account the risk that admitting it would cause undue waste of time, substantially outweighs the argument for reception, taking into account the evidential value of the material...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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